History
by Cloud802
Summary: History was always Ichigo's least favorite subject, so why is he suddenly so interested in Seireitei's? IchiRuki IshiHime OCOC
1. Chapter 1

Cloud: Hello, I know I have other stories I have to work on, but this and my Naruto story will be top priority, I'll write another chapter for Just Cry soon as well. If any of you guys are also Naruto fans, you should go check it out and review, so far it's been doing pretty good.

This takes place after the entire series, so it will have MAJOR spoilers, don't read if you don't wanna know.

Summery: Ichigo, shortly after taking his seat as captain in the fifth division, begins to ponder on the history of the seireitei and rukongai. All souls were originally created equal, so who was the first shinigami? Who became the first Hollow? Ichigo's journey starts with curiosity, but that curiosity will take him back hundreds of years, and drag him into a plot more wretched than Aizen's scheme for ultimate power.

Lesson 1: Attention

Ichigo Kurosaki hated history with a passion, as it was always his worst subject. As Keigo had often liked to point out, Ichigo was a study bug and a geek. However, history was the only damn class he'd ever gotten lower than a B plus in. It irked him to no end, and Rukia never let him live it down, especially with those stupid drawings of hers.

So what did life decide to throw at him as he calmly spun in his captain's chair on a mid summer's day?

"Captain Kurosaki?"

"Oi, Momo, just call me Ichigo, how many times do I have to tell you?" he asked irritably, stopping the makeshift office chair and looking at the small girl that had entered his office.

"H… hai, Captain Ichigo."

Ichigo rolled his eyes but let her carry on nonetheless, "If it's about the paperwork I left it on the desk, I made sure you don't have to do any so you could have some free time today. You seem like you haven't been getting much sleep."

Momo smiled softly and walked forward, taking the thick pile of papers from Ichigo's desk, "Thank you," she said softly, "There's also one more thing, Captain Kurotsuchi would like to speak with you about something."

"What does that freak show want with me?"

"He wants to speak with you… about the origin of the souls; at least that's what I think he called it."

"Alright, you have the day off Momo, go talk with Toshiro or something."

Her cheeks took on a sudden hue of pink, "But why would I…" when she saw his knowing smirk her blush deepened and she decided to shut up and retreat as quickly as possible.

Ichigo sighed and stood from his chair when his Vice captain had retired her badge for the day. He was also hoping he could get some much needed rest, and perhaps poke and prod Rukia about her new position as third captain. No matter how much he denied it, it looked like the fates were not smiling on him that day, so he threw on his flashy white cape and exited his office, making his way to area twelve with a brisk walk. His captain's cape helped to fend off some of the heat due to its color, but as he passed his men he could swear that a few of them were sweating their eyebrows off, and his light sun burn did anything but lighten his mood.

By the time he reached the door to Kurotsuchi's office he had become extremely impatient with the freak show, even though he had yet to see him that day. So he did what any angry, impatient, and hot person would do. He kicked the door several times before it slid open and a shy Nemu poked her head out.

"NEMU! What is all that blasted racket!?"

"Apologies master, but Kurosaki Ichigo is here as you requested," she said quietly, but loud enough to where the captain could hear her.

"Well what are you waiting for girl, send him in send him in!"

She nodded and made a slight sound of a yes before sliding the metal door open fully and letting the orange haired captain enter the office. Ichigo wondered why Nemu was still so shy, Uryu was now here to send threatening glances at Kurotsuchi if he even thought about harming her, but maybe it was just in her nature to act that way.

Ichigo shrugged it off and began to ponder on something else… No matter how many times he had been in this office he still couldn't get used to all the metal and experimental tubes laying about. Science usually gave him the chills, especially when it was being performed on animals, as Kurotsuchi only too often liked to do, as he was now forbidden from human or soul subjects.

"Pay attention Kurosaki, I'm saying something important!"

Ichigo snapped out of his daze and sent a glare at Kurotsuchi, who sat, clearly fuming with anger, in front of his data bank, "I'll listen to you when I want you freak show!"

"Don't talk to me like that boy, I've been here three hundred more years than you!"

"Oh yeah? Well that doesn't stop you from being a freak! Uryu all but gladly told me about your escapades eighty years ago, I'd say only a freak would cut his own Lieutenant!"

"I made her, I do with her what I please!"

Ichigo smirked, "That didn't stop Yamamoto from putting the clamps down after Uryu reported your activities."

Ichigo could have sworn that the freak had turned purple with how much anger that comment had brought about, "Enough!" he shouted finally, "I will not have this nonsense, I called you here because Yamamoto wants you on a case."

"A case, me?"

"Well, not really," grumbled Kurotsuchi, "I'm showing you this information and giving you unlimited access to its archives, you do with it what you please. The case was open and shut centuries ago, don't ask me why the old man wants to dig it up, much less give it to the likes of you."

"Just get on with it before I slit your throat and call it an occupational hazard," snapped Ichigo.

Kurotsuchi bit his tongue against another snide remark, the less he argued with the other captain the sooner he would be rid of him. The computer beeped and spat out a thin object that looked somewhat like a disk. The twelfth captain pulled it out and shoved it into Ichigo's hands before shoving him out the door hastily, "Be gone with you, wretched idiot!"

* * *

Ichigo stared at the little object sitting on his desk, it was midnight and he had yet to see exactly what Kurotsuchi had given him. Ichigo often charged blindly into situations, but that didn't stop him from having a sixth sense of impending doom. Somehow, that little disk had weighed so much in his hands, and when he set it on his desk and began to stare at it that feeling of weight began to grow in his heart. 

"What is it about this?" he muttered to himself, finally pulling a small laptop from his drawer and popping the disk in. A few clicks later the file folder was opened and what Ichigo saw were at least a hundred video files, all dated back at least a thousand years ago. Rushing blindly as he often did, he clicked the first one and the video file began to play.

'Archive date: 1101 AD'

'Recorder: Meiun Kuchiki'

'Recorder Status: Deceased'

_"Is this thing on? __Heh__, what the hell is it? It's like it's recording something."_

_"Cool, __Meiun__, didn't you say the head researcher gave this to you?"_

_"Yeah, that guy's been doing all sorts of crazy stuff. He said, and I quote; 'Only a __Kuchiki__ is worthy to possess something of such technological prowess.'"_

Ichigo saw what looked like the Kuchiki manor, but the image quickly slipped to the face of a young man with unruly brown hair and eyes of the same color.

_"__Meiun__, get it out of my face, it's weird to think my face will be imprinted on this thing."_

His hand reached up and pushed the camera down, but Meiun only laughed.

_"C'mon __Norichou__, it's not like it's going to eat your soul or anything__, besides, could you imagine recording our days with this thing? I tell __ya__, it's __gonna__ be one __helluva__ ride."_

_"Alright alright, but don't take it overboard or the captain's __gonna__ eat us for breakfast."_

_"Yeah yeah, I get it. Smile, it makes you look better."_

_"Shut up __Meiun__."_

More laughter, and then the screen went blank. Ichigo closed the lap top and sighed, deciding to hit the hay for the night. The first video was normal, but… something about the disk still bugged him, so he decided to leave it in the laptop for after tomorrow's paperwork.

On his way back to his new home, he couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen. Bad or good?

He really couldn't tell…


	2. Chapter 2

Lesson 2: Class Starts

Ever since Ichigo had been appointed captain it seemed he had taken Toshiro Hitsugaya's place as high ranking official most often sent to the real world. Not that he minded, it was great to watch his friend's children and grandchildren grow up and see them gain powers of their own, but it was kind of a pain in the ass when he was in the middle of important paper work and Momo popped in telling him he had to go check something out in the living world. His vice captain was a great worker to be sure, and he loved to talk with her during the more peaceful days in the seireitei (when Zaraki wasn't chasing him around). However, the sight of her was starting to make Ichigo cringe, not because she was unpleasant of course, but because she was often the messenger when it came to bad and worse news.

For example, just yesterday when she had bore the news of Kurotsuchi wanting to see him, and now the freak had given him this strange disk that had occupied much of his thoughts. He tried to cast it out as he worked, but it kept grabbing his attention. When he was about halfway through his squad's paper work he caved and removed the lap top from its drawer and booted it up. A half minute later he clicked into the archive and went to the next video.

'Archive date: 1101 AD'

'Recorder: Meiun Kuchiki'

'Recorder Status: Deceased'

_"Is this thing on? Ok, look…"_

The voice was hushed and whispered, almost as if it needed urgent help. The properties remained the same however; Ichigo recognized it as Meiun's voice. The camera panned up and Ichigo gasped, in the sky there was a huge crack, and a Menos Grande was pulling itself out.

_"Eleventh squad member Meiun Kuchiki,"__ he continued__, "And fourth squad member Norichou Han. We were sent on a routine mission to the living world, but things got out of hand. Our communicators were damaged, so our only hope is to periodically pulse our spirit pressure and hope the Menos doesn't see us before back-up gets here."_

Ichigo remembered his last fight with a Grande, he had managed to completely obliterate the monster, but not before he got really beat up himself.

_"Meiun, look!"_

Ichigo watched closely as the camera panned back to the Menos and it leapt from the sky, crashing down and causing several trees to fall. It seemed they were in a forest. The Menos let out a loud roar and began stomping in their direction.

_"Norichou, mask yourself, quick, before it sees us."_

Before the giant Hollow reached them a flash of light resonated, and the Menos Grande tumbled backwards, letting out a cry before it completely disintegrated.

_"Captain!"_

The recording cut itself off and Ichigo leaned back in his chair. Why did he find this video so foreboding? There was just something about it he couldn't quite catch.

"Are you still watching those stupid soap operas Ichigo?"

Looking up once more confirmed his suspicions; there stood Rukia Kuchiki, captain of the third squad and the only Rukongai rat to climb so high so quickly, a teasing smirk on her face. "Listen to yourself," he muttered sarcastically, "What about all those retarded mangas you read all the time, I swear there's enough cheesy romance you can hardly gag at it."

Her eyebrow twitched and he smirked. Good, he was making progress. He decided to continue, "And don't even get me started on YOUR drawings, my God I can hardly look at them without my stomach turning itself upside down."

"Why you…" she charged forward without warning and was over his desk and punching him in the face before he could even blink.

"What the hell was that for?! I'm just saying it how it is!"

"You know, you'd think that after seventy five years you'd be a little more mature, instead you're just that same fifteen year old idiot!"

"Look who's talking, you're at least a hundred years older than me; learn to control your temper!"

"At least my temper is justified! You always insult my drawings, you've never even seen one I put any real effort into, and I bet if you did you'd piss your pants like a baby!"

"Oh, almighty Rukia! I apologize for blatantly insulting your shit drawings!"

Their foreheads clashed and their glares intensified as the fight continued, "You think your badass, huh?! Well just because you beat Aizen doesn't make you the top dog around here, where are your manners?!"

"You're the same rank as me; I can talk to you how I want!"

"Would you two stop flirting and tell me why the hell Kurotsuchi is so pissed?"

Their gazes turned simultaneously to the wooden door of Ichigo's small office, where Toshiro was glaring daggers at his fellow captains, "Honestly," he continued, "You two are so childish around each other, go get married or something…"

Ichigo scowled at the other intruding midget, not noticing that Rukia now resembled a cherry, "What about you and Hinamori huh?!"

Toshiro scoffed, "At least I admit I like her, you two are always just arguing, now why is twelfth division in such an uproar Kurosaki?"

The glare did not leave Ichigo's face, but he decided to let Toshiro get away… for now. "I don't know, I just went over and got this stupid disk that Yamamoto wanted me to have, why?"

Toshiro sighed, "Because Kurotsuchi's torturing his squads; did you do something to piss him off?"

Ichigo smirked, "I may have kicked his door a bit loudly and threatened to kill him a couple of times."

Toshiro shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, "And you became a captain how?"

"Because I kick more ass than all of you."

"Whatever," responded Toshiro before taking his leave.

"What did Kurotsuchi give to you?" asked Rukia, turning to Ichigo, her anger and embarrassment from before completely dissipated.

Ichigo shrugged and sat down in his chair again, eying Zangetsu as it leaned against his book shelf, "Don't know, Momo told me it had something to do with the origin of souls or some weird shit like that, more spiritual hubbub if you ask me. The videos I've watched so far have nothing to do with what she mentioned before I got sent to the freak's office."

"What are they about?"

"Somebody from your clan… his name was Meiun, and he hung out with a guy from fourth division named Norichou, they even did missions together. It's really been bugging me."

"Meiun Kuchiki, he died a long time ago. I remember nii-sama mentioning him just once. He said that Meiun found something he shouldn't have, and that was it. I just figured it was more random nobility stuff."

"Well, it's something more; I can feel it in my gut."

"Uh oh, usually disaster strikes when you get that feeling."

"Bitch."

"Idiot."

"I'm on the third video now, the first one was Meiun messing around, and the second one they almost got killed by a Menos Grande, but their captain saved them."

"Well, let's watch it," she exclaimed, suddenly excited. She opened his lap top and clicked on the appropriate video.

'Archive Date: 1101 AD'

'Recorder: Meiun Kuchiki'

'Recorder Status: Deceased'

_"What the fuck is going on Meiun!?"_

_"I don't know, just calm down!"_

_"Put that thing away, this is serious, we need to get out of here!"_

_"What if we don't Norichou, someone needs to know what happened to us."_

Silence followed the dreadful statement. The camera flared up in night vision and panned around, they were in a cave of some sort. The camera looked around the entire area, but there was no exit, it was almost as if they were domed in.

_"I went out into the woods with Norichou to follow something… strange. At first we thought it was a hollow, but as we drew closer, it looked different."_

_"I think it wanted us to follow it," whispered Norichou._

_"Shut up Norichou, we don't have much time now. When I sliced it with my soul slayer it turned around. I can't remember what it looked like, but it was like I was frozen… I couldn't move a muscle. Next thing you know we're trapped here."_

Before Ichigo could fully process Meiun's story something happened. It was as if it moved from the shadows itself, when it leapt from the ground the camera caught it for a split second. Not even a scream was heard before the camera was dropped to the ground and blood leaked over the lens. Ichigo hurriedly rewound it to when the monster had jumped from the shadows. He carefully paused the video at the moment the monster struck.

Ichigo and Rukia's eyes widened, what they saw was a gapping maw in the shape of a perfect circle with thousands of teeth, and two yellow eyes barely making it pass as a face. It was pale, like human skin on a cold day.

"Rukia, what the fuck is that thing?"

"I don't know Ichigo."

----

Cloud: Funny thing about this chapter. When I was doing the spell check it came across Zangetsu and one of its corrections was Zingers, I almost hit the change button. Cloud you imagine? 'Ichigo shrugged and sat down in his chair again, eying Zingers as it leaned against his book shelf.'

I had many lulz.


	3. Chapter 3

Lesson 3: Today's Schedule

Yamamoto sighed heavily as Ichigo and Rukia showed him what they had found on his lap top screen. The old Shinigami leaned back in his chair and looked to the side as if to reminisce, "I gave you this disk for a reason Captain Kurosaki…"

"Commander… what is that thing?" asked Ichigo quietly.

"We don't really know. Meiun and Norichou were its first victims, and then it went on to kill many Shinigami, which those videos depict. My hope is that your young and naïve eyes will be able to catch something that we missed."

Ichigo scowled at the naïve remark, but the old man only smiled at his reaction, "That's a bullshit reason, why me?"

Rukia glared, "Ichigo, don't talk to Yamamoto-sama like that, you should…"

Yamamoto held up his hand and Rukia fell silent, "Because you are the most likely to find something. It may have been pure luck and charging into the situation, but you uncovered Aizen's plot and saved Seireitei, then you annihilated a Menos Grande when it attacked Rukongai. Ichigo, the only person more powerful than you within the Seireitei is I, and you may not look it, but I think you can solve the case that we failed to many years ago."

Ichigo frowned and looked to Rukia, who merely nodded silently and shifted her stance, "But the freak told me that the case was solved centuries ago."

Yamamoto scoffed, "Kurotsuchi? That old fool? He was the one I appointed to find out what was happening, when the attacks stopped he merely declared the case solved and shut away the files."

"That bastard, how come you haven't fired him?!"

"Finding new captains isn't an easy job Kurosaki. It is your choice on whether you wish to continue to pursue this case or not. I have already seen the videos for myself, there's probably nothing new to find."

Ichigo nodded softly, "I'll watch the files in my free time."

"Very good," said Yamamoto with a curt nod, "Be sure to let me know if you find anything captain."

"I will."

* * *

The streets of the Seireitei were eerily quiet as Rukia and Ichigo walked back. The old style walls that were on both sides only served to magnify the minor claustrophobia, and the blinding white and orange shingled roofs served as the repetitive aspect, "How did you live in a place this boring for a hundred years?" asked Ichigo. 

Rukia scowled, "You live here too now, idiot, so I don't want to hear you complaining."

Ichigo grinned and Zangetsu twitched in its sheath, he grasped the handle and pulled upwards, letting the huge broad sword fall to the ground, "Run Zangetsu," he whispered.

"Ichigo, what are you…"

Before she could finish her sentence Ichigo's Zanpakuto had already widened, the hilt was replaced by a wrapping of bandages and the blade slightly darkened, taking on a curve at the cutting edge. He promptly turned and swung it in an upward arc, destroying a good chunk of the wall to his right, "There," he said cheerfully as Zangetsu returned to its original form and he sheathed it once more, "Now it looks better."

Rukia kicked him… hard.

* * *

Ichigo sighed as he looked down at the last paper… his eyebrow twitched, "How come I have to fill out a stupid piece of paper every time something little happens?" he muttered begrudgingly. 

Honestly, who cared if his twentieth seat killed random hollow C? It just didn't make any sense to him that they had to keep track of trivial things. He reminded himself to go talk to old man Yamamoto as he signed and dotted the last paper, putting it on top of a pile that was well over a foot by now. He pulsed his spirit pressure for a second, and minutes later his vice captain walked through the front door, "I just got done with the papers for today," he said, but before Momo could walk forward to claim them he continued, "Do you know anything else about what's going on with that disk that Kurotsuchi gave me?"

Momo looked down at her feet and shook her head, "No, I'm sorry Captain Ichigo."

"What about that strange thing you said? The origin of souls, know anything about that?"

Momo grinned, clearly excited that a superior wanted to delve into HER knowledge, "Well, a long time ago, when everything began, it was said that all souls were equal. There were no Shinigami and no Hollows, just souls, and Rukongai and the Seireitei didn't even exist yet."

"I see, so even this world had a beginning, huh?"

"That is… in theory it did. A lot of our science heads, especially Kurotsuchi-taicho, try to debunk this line of thinking."

"How about Mr. Hat and Clogs? What did he think of it?"

Momo tilted her head and looked at him as if he had just sprouted a third arm, he shook his head and smiled, of course she wouldn't know that nick name, he never used it around her, "Urahara-san," he continued, "What did he think of it?"

Her look lost its confusion and she continued, "He sought out to prove it, but as you know, he didn't have much time in Soul Society, it was only temporary for him. He went back to the living world before he could finish his research."

"Where's that research now?"

"You have it Captain; it's all on that disk, videos, text, history, all of it."

Ichigo nodded, "I see, go ahead and take the rest of the papers and have a good rest of the day off will ya?"

Momo nodded and marched forward, pulling the pile from Ichigo's desk and walking quickly out the door. Ichigo wondered how she could carry all that without her arms hurting. He leaned down and pulled the lap top from his drawer again, deciding to spend some time on this research he was presented with. Ichigo found several questions running through his head. If all souls were originally created equally then why were there Shinigami, to fight the hollows? Maybe a hollow was made and the other souls decided that they needed a way to fight this new monstrosity. His thoughts and curiosity deepened as he opened the disk folder once again before going to the video files.

'Archive Date: 1101 AD'

'Recorder: Rikei Migoto'

'Recorder Status: Deceased'

_"Meiun Kuchiki and his friend are dead."_

Ichigo frowned; well THAT was a cheerful opening.

_"The monster… it was my fault, I should have never dabbled in affairs that were not my own. It was… pathetic of me to think that it could've been controlled with research and time, but I should have seen that __its__ powers were too great. I do not deserve to be captain of the twelfth Gotei, I am much too pathetic."_

Ichigo couldn't see where it was being filmed. It was as if wherever the man was there was no light whatsoever.

_A bitter laugh, "I thought I could contain it. Right now I cannot even recall how I created it. However, whoever is watching this tape, I can be sure of one thing, and I am going to disclose it to you so that it may help you in the future. This beast… this thing. It feeds on happiness. You can tell when it is near, suddenly, the air becomes cold. If you think thoughts of the __one__ you love… or family, it is of them dying. I am surprised Meiun stayed that level headed before they were slain. If it was not for his Kuchiki blood he would have been as panicked as Norichou._

_"It seems I have unleashed something that cannot be stopped, I am afraid that even Yamamoto-sama will fall victim to its power. I remember one thing…"_

Ichigo leaned forward in his chair, intently listening to this man as he rushed on about his so-called experiment.

_"I wanted to recreate the process of a Hollow in my laboratory. The subject, he was a twenty year old male and had fallen from a cliff face. He was still shaken from his death when I showed him my laboratory. I told him the process of the experiment, and that it would be painful, but I assured him that once I was finished I would purify him with my Zanpakuto and he would be back in Rukongai again._

_"I intended to save lives with this experiment, so he reluctantly agreed to help me, and I admired his selflessness. He truly was a hero… however, I got ahead of myself, and something terrible was released…"_

The video archive ended and Ichigo leaned back in his chair.

Suddenly, the air became cold in his office and a frown permeated his features. When he thought of going to see Rukia on this latest development, he saw her lying in her own blood. He quickly retreated from his office, deciding that he needed to go see Urahara as quickly as possible.


	4. Interval 1

Cloud: Ok, let's get this straight, this is NOT a chapter, you remember those Shinigami picture book things at the end of the episodes, well… these are sorta like those.

I call them intervals, and I think there a neat way to get a laugh out of my readers and BUMP my story without getting in trouble, so here you go.

Interval 1: Something Naughty

Ichigo rubbed his temples, Keigo would be receiving extra punches when he went to school tomorrow, just for good measure. It was summer, it was hot… you'd think the moron would realize that it wasn't the best time to mess with his orange haired friend but no, that's too much of a leap for someone like Keigo.

He opened his front door, not even bothering to notice his father flying past him in a flurry of kicks and landing ungracefully on the sidewalk outside.

He took off his shoes as he always did…

Made his way upstairs as he always did…

Reached for his bedroom door and shouted, "Oi, Rukia!" as he always did…

And when he opened the door his face was meant with the centerfold of a curvaceous blonde woman licking her lips. He tore the magazine from his face and threw it to the ground, letting his gaze fall upon a clearly irate and pissed off Shinigami, "What the hell is that?" she asked, pointing at the offending object.

Ichigo blinked, "It's porn, what does it look like?"

"It looks like women, Ichigo, is there something you need to tell me, if you have a harem I swear I'll…"

Ichigo was taken aback, he couldn't even yell at her, "A… a harem… why would I?"

Her scowl only deepened so he continued to stumble, "Rukia, it's porn, Keigo makes me hold onto it because his mom hates it, they're not… real."

"Well they look pretty real to me Ichigo."

"Wait a minute…" he lifted a finger and pointed at her, "Are you jealous?"

His stumbling attitude from before had completely vanished, and he was now grinning widely.

Her light blush only fueled his ego…

Ichigo woke up with a wet towel on his head and a worried Yuzu standing over him two days later.


	5. Chapter 4

Lesson 4: Open Your Textbooks

Ichigo sighed heavily and took a sip from the tea cup, shifting on his knees as he eyed Urahara over the small wooden table. The silence was mind shattering…

Urahara merely sat there playing with his fan, waiting for Ichigo to reveal the reason why he had come to the living world to visit his shop. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ichigo spoke, "Urahara… I'm doing an investigation. It's a continuation of the one you were doing when you were a Shinigami. The one about the origin of souls, specifically."

Urahara's fan snapped shut abruptly, "Stop now," he said simply.

Ichigo glared, "Why should I?"

"Because not even you could handle what awaits you."

"It killed people and it's probably still out there, I felt its presence in my office, what if it comes after me, or Rukia? Or my friends?"

Urahara sighed and looked at his cup on the table, "You're name means number one guardian… you protect people."

"Yeah, but I'm not stupid, what was that thing?"

"I don't really know, I was never really able to piece together all of the information I had found on it. Like a Hollow however… it devours souls. Different from a Hollow, those souls are lost forever."

"What do you mean?"

"Normally when a Hollow devours a soul it's still inside of them, when the Hollow is purified with a Zanpakuto it can then pass on to soul society and live there, the souls that were inside it also pass on. However, like a Bount, when this monster eats a soul, it's gone forever."

Ichigo's grip tightened on the tea cup, "There's no way to kill it?"

Urahara looked up once more, "You saw what happened to Meiun when he tried to wield his Soul Slayer against it."

"You didn't find out anything at all?"

Urahara finally reached down to his tea cup, picking it up slowly before taking a sip from it and setting it down.

"It killed a Vaizard in half hollow form."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

* * *

_To whom it may concern,_

_By the time you read this I will have proudly finished my research. I know a soul's suffering causes a Hollow to be born, but ho__w does the process begin exactly?__ I must observe this process closely several times in order for it to be an ample experiment. So I gathered my first subject and asked him to participate in this ground breaking __research. I was surprised that he agreed, as I told him the process would be very painful, and it would be a while before he could live in Rukongai again._

_Rikei Migoto_

Ichigo clicked the next button.

_To whom it may concern,_

_My research started today, it truly is fascinating. Did you know that whether or not a soul chain is still linked to the body, if a single link shatters that soul will become a __hollow?__ I was surprised at this startling development, this means that even us Shinigami can become Hollows. You see, when a Shinigami's soul chain is shattered they lose all their powers, however, if a link is broken, the chain eats itself away as if it would on a normal soul… at least in theory._

_Rikei Migoto_

He clicked again.

_To whom it may concern,_

_The soul chain has finally eaten itself away, and my subject has become a Hollow. However, one thing is bothering me, when the subject transformed, the mask formed first._

Ichigo, one of the few people who knew what it meant when the mask formed first, fidgeted in his office chair, and was promptly reminded of his inner Hollow.

_It looks different from normal __Hollows;__ it almost seems as if it's hungrier. __Its daily thrashes against the spirit glass that encases it shows this, and it looks as if it actually HAS to eat souls… like it is starving._

_Rikei Migoto_

Strange, Hollows didn't need souls, they only craved them. Ichigo clicked the next button again.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I fear I have made a grave error in my research, the subject is missing. Yamamoto ordered an __immediate__ dispatch team to find the hollow as quickly as possible, but to no avail. The strangest thing happened while I was cleaning the mess it left behind. While I shifted and cleaned the glass, I found its mask on the ground, as if it had discarded it and run off. Surely, Hollows cannot remove their masks, can they? I fear this is the end of my career._

_Rikei Migoto_

* * *

Rukia frowned, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth as she finished the last bit of her paperwork. She hoped to herself that Yamamoto wouldn't mind the small Chappy rabbits she had drawn on the side of some of her papers when she became bored. She shrugged, figuring she got the work done and that's what mattered.

Gin's old office was small, a desk, a lap top, a section for the papers, tools, and that was it. Obviously he hadn't planned on being captain very long, and Rukia wondered why no one noticed his strange setup. The walls were bare and only one window was behind her. It had been a year since she and Ichigo were appointed captains, she reminded herself to fill her space more, and at least the idiot had the book shelf left over by Aizen.

A juice box landed on her table with a strong hand holding it, 'Speak of the devil,' thought Rukia, smiling lightly.

"You, me, Living world."

"Is that how you ask girls out on dates Ichigo? No wonder you never had a girlfriend in the living world." She noticed he had her favorite flavor of juice, fruit punch, and that he even had a picnic basket, "What's the occasion?"

He glared at her, "What? I can't ask a friend to a picnic?"

"Maybe if you were more gentlemanly I would be obliged to come!"

"It's not my fault you're a stubborn goat!"

"Fine, I'll come you idiot, but on one condition!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"I get all the sweets!" she yelled, snatching up her juice box and running out the door, not giving him a chance to protest as he ran after her.

* * *

"So, we have the day off?" wondered Rukia as Ichigo opened the basket and laid the blanket down. 

"Yep, Toshiro is covering Karakura for us, so we don't have to worry about anything," he said, scratching the neck of his gigai and adjusting his classic "Nice Vibe" shirt. He had smiled when Rukia had worn the dress Ishida had sewn for her, and here he was, always forgetting to thank Ishida for that.

"How did you get him to…?"

"I have my ways," he said with a smirk, pulling out the bentos he had brought along.

Rukia pulled the straw from her juice box and stared at it in wonder for a good minute before Ichigo rolled his eyes and snatched it from her, "Hey!"

"Shut up, seventy years and you still don't know how to open the damn juice box," he grumbled, tearing open the straw and pushing it in for her.

She forcefully grabbed it back when he had finished and stuck her tongue out at him, "Ichigo…"

"Hm?"

Her eyes almost looked sad, "You haven't changed much, have you?"

"What's that supposed to mean? You haven't either, I'm not complaining."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It has been a long time though."

Ichigo pushed his Bento to the side and once again pulled the juice box from her grasp. Before she could appropriately yell at him he pushed her onto her back, holding her hands down while he hovered over her, "What the hell are you getting so melancholy about Rukia? This is us, the way we'll always be, you got it?!"

She glared and kneed him in the thigh, producing a painful grunt from her target, "What the hell's that supposed to mean?!"

He grinned and leaned down, planting his lips on hers and bringing a hand up to run through her hair. He pulled back way too soon for Rukia's taste. "I don't know why you have to be such a dramatic idiot Rukia, I swear."

"Who are you calling dramatic?! You're the one who's always all, 'I'll save everyone no matter what with my big sword, blahblahblah'!"

He scowled at her before getting back up and sitting cross legged, going back to his lunch, "Shut up and eat your bento, or I might do that again."

Rukia did not eat her bento, in fact, just for one more of those she wouldn't eat ever again, even if her stomach growled at her.


	6. Chapter 5

Lesson 5: Read the Passage

His reflection was warped…

Zangetsu always seemed to do that. He would always turn to his sword in a great time of need, ask him questions that were otherwise unanswered, the hollows input was mostly there to annoy him. Now, as he looked at his reflection on the silver sheen, his face was split in two. The first form of Zangetsu had healed quite well Ichigo thought, considering as it had been shattered by Byakuya and completely destroyed by Urahara. It always brought back memories of when he and Rukia first fought alongside each other.

The grass swayed around the blade and Ichigo looked around the academy training grounds, it was an area for kido. He smirked when he remembered the first kido lesson he had attended. Standing up, he held up his hand, "Destructive art 33, blue fire, crash down."

The current teacher would need several new target papers…

* * *

He ran a hand through his orange hair, asking himself what it all meant. The videos, the records, the research, the letters, all of it combined had to form SOMETHING. He hadn't felt its presence since that day in his office, something he was extremely grateful for, but if he didn't figure this out soon he was afraid something terrible would happen. As much as he wanted to give Momo time off again, he decided he needed a full day on his own to study the records and hopefully make something of it. 

His small date with Rukia was meant as a distraction… it was racking at his brain and he couldn't be rid of it.

His lap top casted a small blue light in the darkness of his office, turning the brown walls almost a blood red color, he began with the video archives once more.

'Archive Date: 1101 AD'

'Recorder: Unknown'

"Recorder Status: Unknown'

Static; that was all Ichigo saw at first, and then…

The cave that Meiun and Norichou were killed in and the blood leaking down the lens…

The camera shifted before lurching up and pointing towards the now visible sky. The rest of the cave slowly dissolved into thin air. Suddenly, the camera was thrown against something, maybe a tree, it was still night time and Ichigo couldn't tell.

A moment later something leaned down to look at the camera. It had yellow eyes, and looked human almost, but its skin was as pale as the moonlight and had an unnatural shine to it. Slowly, its mouth opened, as if to speak, then it got wider and wider.

The gaping maw with a thousand teeth returned, and an ear splitting screech resonated from the speakers on the lap top.

The recording ended and Ichigo gritted his teeth before moving onto the next one.

'Archive Date: 1101 AD'

'Recorder: Rikei Migoto'

'Recorder Status: Deceased'

_"Its mask cracked today, the strangest thing I have seen in all my years. I don't know what is happening, but I do know one thing, whatever that beast is… is not a Hollow. It removed its mask, and now __it's__ cracked, yet it is still running rampant. Two lifeless bodies were found in Rukongai this morning, the very essence of their soul sucked from them. I fear this will not be the end of such killings."_

The area was black again before Ichigo heard a click. Light erupted and the camera's lens adjusted accordingly, showing an area much like Kurotsuchi's lab.

_"That poor soul, all he wanted to do was help me, and I've done nothing but turn him into a monster. He wanted to help people, not devour them. I can only do one thing… I must attempt to strike him down so that he does not have to live as this monstrosity. If I do not return this record will be left to__ the hands of those who find it, p__lease, make as much use of it as you can."_

Ichigo's frown deepened when the recording ended, this was seriously starting to grate his nerves. What was this thing? A Hollow? Like the old man in the video said, there was no way it could have been a Hollow.

"If so then what?"

* * *

"Nii-sama." 

Byakuya's eyes opened and he turned from the picture of his wife, "Yes?"

Rukia bowed her head, "May I have permission to access the family archives?"

"What for."

"Captain Kurosaki and I need it to solve a case."

"Very well, you have my permission."

"Hai."

If only it were so simple. She may have easily gotten her brother's permission, but sifting through endless papers and books was hardly a fun time for Rukia Kuchiki. The archive was as big, if not bigger, than the official Shinigami library. It was a domed shape room with book shelves going up several levels on the walls. Going towards the center of the room were rows upon rows of even more books, and nothing but a small center table and a chair in the middle of the room, which was exactly where she sat now, pouting over the latest useless item she had found.

Every book on the beginning of Soul Society was scattered and in different sections entirely, however, Rukia noticed that most of them were in theory and fiction. With a sigh, she closed the current book, not having found anything even remotely akin to what she needed.

As she searched through the countless books in the theory section once more another name caught her eye… Urahara.

She immediately scooped up the book and retreated back to the table, throwing it down and opening it up as if it were a gift wrapped present on Christmas day. Perhaps she had finally found what she needed, as the book was full of theories the goofball had wrote down and presented to the board. Zanpakuto properties, new kidos, mod souls, gigais…

'There it is,' she thought as she stumbled upon a page on souls in general.

_Making a soul is like baking a cake._

Rukia sweat dropped, the guy even wrote like a goofball.

_You have to have the right base, the right __ingredients__, and then there's the baking part, which you have to be extra __careful__ doing. All this talk of making souls has me wondering where exactly we did come from. It's not like we just randomly appeared one day and decided to call this place Soul Society. Then again, maybe that was what happened…_

_History records can only go back so far, and it is my job as head researcher to get to the bottom of these mysteries. In creating souls I have found myself wondering who created US. My __colleagues__ say it is a strange and unwanted question, but screw them, I'm the captain and I do what I want._

Rukia swore next time she saw Kisuke she would give him a swift roundhouse kick for being such a horrible writer.

_We had to come from __somewhere;__ someone had to build Seireitei and Rukongai. Someone had to become the first Hollow and someone had to become the first Shinigami. In my search for these 'non-__existent__' records I found something strange in an abandoned building, distract ten of Rukongai. It was an old tome titled something about souls. I was able to open it and decipher some of the language, but I did not move the book for fear it would crumble._

_Perhaps someone with an extremely high spiritual __pressure__ would be able to move the book without crushing it, but even captains would have trouble concentrating all that power on one book without walking into a pole. For now I think it's best to leave it where it is. It's about two miles __in;__ Old Man Kuroji at the __Breakneck__ bar knows the building._

_This record will be kept in the Kuchiki archive so no one may disturb the tome until it can be moved to a better research environment._

Rukia closed the book and stood from her chair, quickly gathering it before vacating the archives. Her rush to fifth district did not go unnoticed by her fellow Shinigami. By the time she reached Ichigo's office she burst through the door, "Ichigo!"

"Rukia? What the hell is the big idea?! Bustin' into my office like that!"

"Quite whining and listen," she said, marching forward and slamming the book onto his desk, almost causing his lap top to fall off. She earned another glare, but ignored him and pushed on, "We have a lead, Urahara found and old book while he was researching, and he didn't keep any record of what he found."

"What the hell are you doing here then, is that the book?"

"No, the book's in bad condition and it needs extra reitsu to hold it together while we move it."

He smirked, "So you need a high spiritual pressure eh? Why didn't you just say so, let's go."


	7. Chapter 6

Cloud: I'm back! I know it's been a while since I've updated but I just got Devil May Cry 4 and I absolutely had to beat it.

You know what's really cool?

All you DMC fans that also watch Bleach, the new character Nero is voiced by the same guy that does Ichigo in the English dub! I heard that voice and I freaked out and started babbling about it to my mom. It was awesome, and fret not, for Nero plays well, and Dante is not a background character, so go pick it up already!

Lesson 6: Vocabulary Time

The book was heavy, that was all that Ichigo noticed as he poured his Spirit pressure into the effort of holding the damn thing together. Rukia carefully guided him by holding onto his shoulders given the fact that what he was doing took pure concentration. The old man that Urahara mentioned in his record was very kind and happily showed them the dilapidated building where the book had resided all these years. As they passed several residents backed away from the immense spiritual pressure, and some of them were completely unable to move until Ichigo had disappeared from their sight completely.

It had been so long since she had been to Rukongai that Rukia hardly recognized it, but it was still as feral as ever, and some of the citizens looked so torn down she didn't think she could bear to stay here any longer. Her thoughts traveled to the times when she had constantly told the souls they would be going to a peaceful place, however, Rukongai was anything but peaceful these days it seemed.

The trip back to Ichigo's office was relatively safe save for having to fend off a battle ready Kenpachi. The book was laid gently on his desk and Ichigo sighed with relief as his power once again withdrew to his body, "That takes me back to cannonball days," he said with a smirk, only to have Rukia flick him on the forehead.

"I'm the one that had to stand up under all that."

"That's right; you're a little weakling, aren't you?"

Ichigo suddenly collapsed and held his groin, gritting his teeth in pain while an angry Rukia stood over him, "Don't you talk to me like that, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't be a Shinigami at all Mr. High and Mighty!"

"That was a cheap shot," he grumbled, standing up and resting in his chair with a sigh of relief.

"I got another one if you want it."

"Just shut the hell up and let's get on with this," he growled, opening the cover of the book gently as Rukia leaned over his shoulder. "What the hell is this?!" he shouted, causing Rukia to jump.

However, when she regained her demeanor and peeked over his shoulder again she saw what he was on the fringe about… it was in some weird language. Forget Japanese and English, in fact, there wasn't a single kanji or roman letter on the page as far as she could tell. "It's in some weird language," she muttered.

Ichigo looked at her and scowled, "Naw, like I can't see that captain obvious!"

A quick smack to the back of the head silenced him temporarily, "We don't have a choice; we have to take it to Kurotsuchi."

"What?! That freak show again? I've already had to deal with him once, don't make me go back again, we'll take it to Urahara; you said he translated some of it already anyways!"

"Fool! Urahara's in the living world, you're lucky you managed to snatch that date, going back and forth for a book that can be translated by a captain who's already here wouldn't make Yamamoto the happiest person in the world!"

"Fine! We'll take it to the freak, but don't expect me to bite my tongue at all!"

* * *

When Ichigo Kurosaki once again showed up to his laboratory Kurotsuchi was not happy at all, but it was on the investigation he and Rukia Kuchiki were conducting, so he had no choice but to let them enter. That didn't mean that he had to give the any hospitality though, "What do you want?" he growled as they entered the metal infested area.

The heavy spiritual pressure finally died down when Ichigo had placed the book on top of one of Kurotsuchi's servers, "We want you to translate this gibberish," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"And why should I do that, I'm sure there's more than one person capable."

"Because you're convenient freak show!"

Kurotsuchi didn't notice when Rukia stepped harshly on Ichigo's toe, "Fine, but on one condition, when I'm done I better not see you within range of the Gotei twelve for at least five months unless it's on DIRECT order!"

"Fine by me, I don't wanna be seen near you either, it'd kill my reputation."

Kurotsuchi glared but bit his tongue, choosing instead to examine the book closely, "Hmm, I've never seen this language before, this book was probably written hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. It will take some time, Nemu, show them the door!"

Before they knew what had happened they had already been harshly shoved outside with the door slamming abruptly behind them. Rukia glared at Ichigo and he shrugged, "What, you got a problem? He IS a freak you know."

"Yes, he is, but my problem is you berating fellow captains!"

"What's the matter with that?! We've got Mr. Freak back there, we've got someone who's even shorter than YOU, we've got a guy who's racked up a thousand sick days, a blind guy always ranting about justice, an old man who always sleeps when you need to talk to him, a midget with a temper (read: Rukia), and don't even get me started on Zaraki and that pink ball of doom!"

"So? We've also got an idiot with spiky orange hair that refuses to follow any sort of conduct!" she yelled, bonking him on the head with her fist.

He grabbed her fist before she could retreat it and pulled it around his waist, and before she knew it her face was pushed against his chest, "Oh yeah? You seem to like that in a guy though," he whispered.

"I never said that," she breathed.

Suddenly, Ichigo pushed off of her, causing her to fall while he jumped back himself. Before she could scold him for suddenly assaulting her she looked up just in time to see a jaggy katana hit the ground and create a crack twice her size. Ichigo stole the words right out of her mouth, "What the hell is wrong with you Zaraki?!"

Zaraki stood and flashed a grin in Ichigo's direction, "You know Ichigo," he said, shouldering his Zanpakuto, "PDA is strictly forbidden within Seireitei."

Rukia swore she could see the vein on Ichigo's forehead burst, "That doesn't give you the right to randomly assault me for flirting, and if I hadn't noticed you Rukia could have been hurt!"

"Ah, but therein lies the hole in your argument, you DID sense me in time to save the little lady, and now, as punishment for PDA, instead of reporting you, I'm gonna make you fight me."

Rukia sighed and shook her head, "Men," she mumbled.

"Kenpachi you loon! I don't want to fight right now!"

"Seems to me like you don't have much of a choice," responded Zaraki before charging forward and bringing down his sword.

Ichigo rolled out of the way and held up his hands, "Are you insane?! If we battled here everything would be destroyed!"

"Where's the fun in not destroying stuff? You didn't complain when we annihilated all those buildings in our first fight!"

Ichigo growled, "Fine, but just for kicks," he said, pulling Zangetsu from its sheath, "Zangetsu will stay in its first form. I won't let any of your attacks get past the handle!"

"That's more like it!" shouted Zaraki.

Before Ichigo could fully adapt to the swing of things their swords were already clashing and vibrating against each other, "You learn your Zanbakuto's name yet?"

"Yeah," said Zaraki, pushing forward and forcing Ichigo to try and keep his ground with his toes, "But I'm not tellin' you."

Ichigo brought his right leg up and swiftly kicked down Zaraki's sword arm before thrusting forward with Zangetsu. He drew back and took a defensive stance, smirking at the light cut he had inflicted upon Zaraki's cheek, "Well, you wanted a dance, I'm giving you one."

Zaraki wiped the blood and smiled, "You just keep getting better and better Kurosaki, but maybe there's something you should know."

"Oh yeah, what would that be?"

"So do I!"

With that final shout Zaraki charged forward once more, and Ichigo tightened his stance.

* * *

Cloud: I wanted to get a fight in there, but the monster hasn't revealed itself yet, so I figured Zaraki would be the perfect candidate.

Oh, and DMC4 has my heart forever, Dante's Shakespeare scene has to be my favorite one. If you want to see it go to YouTube or buy the game. It's my favorite scene in the whole thing and it had me grinning the whole time.


End file.
